


Light years away

by AbbyStaffyIsGeek



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Ability au, Don't yell at me, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, It just takes a while to get to an actual relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut is hard to right and I have 0 experience xD, bending elements, first time posting ao3, first voltron fic, i can't tag, kind of slow burn, uploadedfro wattpad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-04 13:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12170127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbbyStaffyIsGeek/pseuds/AbbyStaffyIsGeek
Summary: Lance is captured by a Lotor and his team have to get him back. Upon finding him they find out something very surprising...





	1. Chapter 1

The new Red Paladin slowly awoke from his fitful slumber, the dim bulbs in his room shining light across his furrowed brow. Lance had been having nightmares (less recently though) and luckily this one wasn't too bad..... Unless you call being blasted into space and suffocating in the void bad. His heart pounding, the paladin sat up in his small bed and took a slow, deep breath. It seemed real now but Lance knew he was getting much better at dealing with the night terrors ever since he opened up to his team about them- things were looking up for him. This thought in mind, he went to get ready, washing off his face mask and being quietly proud that despite the bad dream he had still managed to get a good seven hours of sleep.  
___

Keith slashed his sword across a training drone's torso, the clash of metal biting at his eardrums before he swiftly turned and decapitated yet another drone. Level four was becoming easy for him but whenever he attempted level five he failed miserably. I guess that's what practice is for.  
"Turn on training level five" commanded the black paladin, brushing the sweat from his forehead and getting ready for his next battle, barely noticing he had been up 2 hours and that it was now 7 o'clock and therefore time to eat the space goo Coran claimed was breakfast.  
__

"Fellow paladins, how did you sleep?" Asked Allura brightly as the last of the other paladins (excluding Keith) filtered into the dining room and started munching at the pitiful excuse for food laid out in front of them. Her gaze stayed pointedly at Lance for a few seconds, clearly making sure he would tell them if something was wrong again.  
"Getting much" Said Lance, which was the truth.  
"That's good, hey, where's Keith" asked Shiro, his eyes surveying the room as if Keith was hiding under a chair or something.  
"He's probably just training, like Pidge was when I found her this morning, she was up all night!" Hunk answered, staring at Pidge with a concerned look .  
"I wasn't training, I've been working on a way to track Prince Lotor's ship.... But so far it's only been picking up his signal when we're within a quarter of a galaxy from him" explained Pidge with a sigh, whilst she was talking she was also typing away at a tablet device.  
"It's great that you're trying to track Lotor but it's important to get a full night of rest, right Lance?" Said Shiro, turning everyone's attention to the Cuban boy whilst he absentmindedly picked at the slop on his plate.  
"Shiro is right Pidge, please try to go to bed at a decent hour from now on" Allura asked, giving Pidge a concerned look now that the green paladin had looked up from the device in her hands.  
"Sure, but I still need to finish this so if you'll excuse me" Pidge left the room leaving everyone to look at Lance.

"Sorry to pull you in back there but I think Pidge sometimes forgets she's only 14 and that she can't take on so much responsibility all at once. I thought reminding her of what sleep deprivation can.... Do to a person would make her take better care of herself" apologised Shiro kindly, Lance gave a genuine smile in response.  
"But on that subject, how are you buddy?" Asked Hunk. When Lance had been going through a tough time about a month and a half ago he had kept his problems bottled up inside until he was physically and emotionally recked. He couldn't concentrate or sleep and forming Voltron became impossible. So eventually everyone managed to coherse him into telling them what was wrong. Lance smiled sincerely and replied honestly, trusting his friends with his insecurities was the best decision he had ever made and his self esteem had never been higher.  
__

After three rounds at level five, Keith could barely stand up straight. Yet again success had evaded him and his anger and impatience was starting to affect his performance- he needed a breather. Upon walking into the clearly lit hall of the Castle the young paladin heard laughter coming from Pidge's room. As the new black paladin Keith thought he should check on them... And possibly join in on the fun.  
"Oh, hey Keith" smiled Lance when he noticed Keith stood at Pidge's door, he then proceeded to gesture to the space next to him, hoping Keith would join them. The black paladin let out a small smile before sitting on the bed next to Lance, Hunk and Pidge.  
"These guys convinced me to take a break from my tracking system so we decided to pl- Oh my God Keith you reek!" Exclaimed Pidge holding her nose to drive in her point, Keith blushed realising he hadn't taken a shower after training.  
"Uhm, sorry Pidge" he muttered, the blood rushing to his face as he got up to leave but Lance caught his shoulder and pushed him back to his sitting position on the bed.  
"She's just messing around but you are super sweaty from training... You missed breakfast and everything" laughed Lance whilst the others joined in.  
"I mean if you can even call that goop breakfast!"  
"Hey, don't insult food Pidge! One day you'll realise all food is worthy of our respect and love" laughed Hunk while he rubbed his stomach before adding "except broccoli, that stuff belongs in the deepest crevasses of the Gulran Empire".  
"So goop is great but broccoli is ev-" he's cut short by the blaring alarm on Pidge's device, Lotor was near.

This is bad.


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron is attacked...

The entire castle was lit red and blaring alarms made it difficult to hear one another- a big flaw in the design honestly. All of the paladins were now suited up after rushing around alerting everyone of Lotor's imenant arrival.  
"But why would Lotor not be here already? If he's that close shouldn't he have already gotten here?!?" Rambled Pidge whilst she typed furiously away at her tablet, it had been 10 minutes since the initial alert came through and Lotor's ship was capable of traveling that distance in 30 seconds.  
"Perhaps he's taking advantage of the scenery? To your left you'll see the great Windalyerian, a magnificent..." pondered Coran whilst twiddling his moustache between his thumb and forefinger.  
"Whatever the reason, we need to be ready for anything" commanded Shiro in his stern I'm-the-leader voice, despite Keith being the new black paladin.  
"I've already put up the particle barrier and I've set up the castle defences" announced the Princess upon entering the command bay, she too was wearing her paladin uniform.  
"Listen, Lotor is only travelling with one ship so he should only have his usual 4 generals with him. He isn't looking for a fight with Voltron- he's a skilled pilot but the ship he's in couldn't take us down. So he must want to board the Castle" said Keith confidently and Lance nodded in agreement.  
__

The Gulran Prince stood looking at the Altean ship on his monitor, his four generals standing behind him. One was growing impatient of his desicion not to attack quite yet, but knowing what she was about to say he lifted his hand in a motion to silence her. His generals were skilled but he often found them trivial.  
"Open a call with Altean ship, I want to send them a message" commanded Lotor smirking as he thought of the looks on the paladins' faces. Faces he was yet to see clearly.  
"Our request to speak has been sent through Sire"  
"Good" Lotor replied watching the screen until it lit up, static shot across it and then showed the 5 paladins, plus their butler and- well, project Kuron seemed to be progressing nicely.  
"What do you want, Lotor?!" Asked the Altean Princess angrily despite have fear in her eyes. The prince laughed maliciously.  
"So this is what the universe has to offer? A princess of a dead planet, her butler, a child who can barely reach the controls of their lion, a fat lump, a moody teenager, my father's old champion and-" Lotor's voice faltered as he reached the last paladin, he wore blue and had an angry scowl across his face but... He was beautiful. His tan skin glowed gold and his muscles bulged but didn't protrude too much as to make the Prince jealous. He coughed slightly, realising he had been staring silently.  
"Ahem, my generals and I..." Lotor's voice faltered again, the paladin was too distracting, curse his Gulran genes. It was going to get in the way of the mission.  
__

"What are you and your little entourage going to do, huh Prince Loser?" Though admittedly not the best play on words Lance smirked slightly whilst the rest of his team sighed and continued to wait for the Prince to say his piece and desperately figure out a plan. At Lance's words Lotor's eyes widened before returning to their natural position and he cut off the call before giving the paladins any real clue to his plans.  
"Well this sucks" frowned Hunk after the Prince had left, he looked at his teammates to see if they could shed some light on what to do now.  
"Look, Lotor is smart so we'll just have to be, ugh, smarter?" Said Keith, his confidence from earlier gone as he tried to be a good leader, a job that Shiro was clearly better at.  
"Quick Paladins! Lotor's ship is approaching! There's no time for a plan, let's just get to our lions!" Exclaimed Allura as the ticks counted down on the moniter. They would just have to wing it.

The paladins rushed through the castle, only for a blast into the side of their ship to knock them off balance.  
"Allura, I thought the particle barrier was up?!" Shouted Lance through the comms, he was trying to run down a lone hallway to the red lion but the repeated thuds were making it near impossible.  
"The barrier is up! We're under heavy fire and our defences are too weak to combat it" yelled Allura in response, managing to get into the Blue Lion hanger just as Lotor blasted his way in. Whilst he was still across the room the Princess had an idea and told Pidge to activate D10, a fete that could take more time than they had...  
"Why hello Princess" smiled Lotor, Allura froze for a second before pulling out her Bayard.  
"No need for that, I haven't come for you" said Lotor motioning for his generals to advance. Before being over run Allura did manage to catch a glimpse of disappointment in Lotor's eye when he looked at her.  
__

The Prince sauntered through the castle, knowing the paladins were slowly getting taken out by his guards.  
"Stop right there Lotor" yelled the angry teenager from earlier, he was dressed in red but held the black Bayard. Interesting.  
"Now, now, is that any way to treat a guest in your home?" Lotor smiled cunningly, knowing he could beat this child in a fight, the kid was good but certainly not as masterful with a sword as he was.  
"It is when they came in uninvited" remarked the paladin, brandishing his sword.  
"I called first" laughed Lotor, before allowing the black paladin to lunge at him, dodging was easy.   
"You're just tiring yourself out young paladin" he smirked after a few minutes of fighting, slashing with his own sword and knocking the bayard out of his skilled opponent's hand.  
"No, I'm stalling." Smiled the paladin. The Prince stepped back, wide eyed as the ship started to come alive at the walls. Guns blasted in Lotor's direction making any further action impossible.  
"Do you have the package?" Asked Lotor with a sigh into his comms, retreating from the murderous corridor as he did so, his shoulder getting grazed in the process. Nevermind, he had learnt from an early age to bare pain.  
*Yes*  
"Then initiate protocol 'black out' "  
*Sire that function is untested and ironically takes a lot of power*  
"Don't question me"  
*Of course, Sire*

And with his command the Altean ship lost all power, except the defence system, which was better protected in case of attack.


	3. 3

The entire castle was silent apart from the weak gasps from the paladins as the stumbled around the dimly lit hallways, thankful their back up system was keeping them from complete darkness. Shiro was the first to come to his senses, calling out through the still operational comms to see if everyone was okay.  
"Hunk, here"  
"Pidge, here and with Coran"  
"Keith, here"  
*Groan* "Allura, cough, here"  
Silence ensued.  
"Lance, do you copy?!" Asked Shiro frantically as he rushed through the halls towards the hangers, reaching a hurt Allura on the floor.  
"Are you okay?" Questioned Shiro as he pulled the Princess to her feet, steadying her when she swayed slightly. She was a little out of it, but pretty much okay.  
"I'm fine, but I didn't hear Lance answer, did you.. ?" Shiro shook his head at the princess' question.  
"Good work enitiating D10 though, without that we would all be lost" sighed Shiro, trying to comfort the now crying princess but failing.  
"Guys!" Called Keith as he ran up to his leader with Coran being just as speedy, dragging the other two paladins with them. When he saw that Lance wasn't with his comrades all of the hope in his eyes was dashed.  
"We need to sweep the castle, Lance could be badly injured somewhere on the ship" ordered Shiro, the only one who seemed to be able to think with a level head at the moment.  
"But you've all been to the places he could be, there's no where else on the castle he could've been hurt" pointed out the Princess grimly, now standing tall despite her clear concussion.  
"We've got to look" said Keith, his voice full of determination and threat.  
__

Lance woke up to find himself in a lavishly decorated, almost entirely purple, room. He rubbed his sore head and attempted to sit up- a fete that caused him great discomfort and dizziness.  
"Ugh" he sighed, clutching the bedframe to better hoist himself- he knew it was gonna be a bad day.  
"Why hello young paladin" greeted Lotor sweetly as the door opened, revealing the Gulran Prince, his beautiful mane of silver hair falling gracefully down his back. How could such a good looking man be so evil? Lance cursed himself at the unholy thought. Lance backed away slightly, terrified of Lotor but also very confused and trying to remember how he got captured. Was his team here too? Where was here?  
"Ugh, gulp what do you.. want fr-from me?" Asked Lance with as much bravery as could muster, not liking the hungry look in Lotor's eyes Ashe surveyed the paladin's body.  
"Why, you're my true love, and as awful as that is my Galran heritage means I can't resist you. So we are set to be wed." Lance almost laughed, there was no way in Hell he was going to marry Lotor, no matter how handsome he was. Ugh, shut up Lance, thinking like that is wrong, he told himself.  
"Sorry man, no way I'm marrying you" Lance smirked, more confident than before, if Lotor really did see him as his true love or whatever there was no way he'd hurt him.  
"Ah, I was worried about that. Until you agree to marry me you will be locked in here." Lotor sighed but before stepping out he grabbed Lance in a flash and pinned him to the deep purple bed, forcing a kiss that lasted so long Lance was struggling to stay conscious from his lack of oxygen. When the Prince did leave Lance rolled across the bed and fell to the floor, this wasn't going to be too bad, right?


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't summarise so...

"It's been three fucking days! Why the Hell can't we get this shitty castle working again!?! This is so useless, who knows what could be happening to Lance right now!!! I already lost one brother, I can't lose another!!!" Yelled Pidge, incredibly stressed with tears of frustration in her eyes. She'd been working non stop to counter-act the virus Lotor had given them in an attempt to bring the castle to full power.  
"Hey, hey, language. And we are all trying our best. Lance is gonna be fine" Shiro comforted her softly, placing his real hand on her pale sgoulder, trying to convince himself of Lance's safety as much as was everyone else.  
"And it looks like our work payed off!"  Cried Coran jubilantly as the power flashed back on. After two days of only being able to see using dim blue bulbs, the sudden brightness seared their eyes.  
"A little more warning next time, hey Coran?" Asked Hunk nervously, rubbing his eyes.  
"Fantastic work fellow paladins, now we can attempt to find Lance!" Cheered Allura, her smile fading upon realising how hard that task would be.  
"You got the power back?" Asked Keith tiredly, as he walked into the bustling room, his lightly bruised skin covered in a layer of sweat and the fringe of his mullet covering his red eyes.   
"Yes, how did your training go?" Asked Shiro as the others rushed around the control deck, trying to make sense of the stream of data they were now receiving that they hadn't been able to get whilst being without power.  
"Boring, the droids were out of power too so I just had to do press ups and stuff, then the place came back to life and I had to fend off three robots without my bayard just get here" had Lance been he would have laughed at Keith's surprise, but still made sure he was okay for some reason. Keith didn't deserve him.  
"Sorry for the shock, but on the bright side we are now fully operational and ready to wormhole, if that's alright with you, Princess?" Said Coran, turning to Allura who gave a determined smile. Her concussion faded by now.

"Let's go.... Wait, where are we going?" Questioned the Altean before turning to her silent teammates.  
"Well we need to find Lance" announced Keith obviously, to a nod of agreement from Pidge, Hunk and Coran.  
"But we don't know where he is" reminded Shiro, a frown appearing on his lips.  
"We'll just find Lotor and beat Lance's location out of him" stated Keith angrily, to more uncertain looks from his team.  
"We don't know where he is though" pointed out Hunk in an unusually gloomy tone of voice.  
"Didn't you have some sort of tracker Pidge? We can use that" Keith was still adamant despite the better judgement of his team. He needed Lance for his impulse control, otherwise Keith was just gonna get them into more trouble.  
"That only works close range, it's pretty much useless until I upgrade it" Pidge was upset too, her head hung with disappointment and Hunk pulled the 14 year old into a hug.   
"Well upgrade it then!" Yelled Keith before stalking off, he knew he was the worst black Paladin ever, but that didn't matter as long as they found Lance.  
__

Meanwhile in Lance's cell things weren't going so well. The Red Paladin felt like he was starting to lose his mind after three days of no socialisation, very little food and water that he was certain had drugs in it with varying effects. He was starting to hope Lotor would walk in just so he could have a conversation with someone other than himself.  
"Ugh" he groaned, pacing his now dishevelled room swiftly, kicking objects out if the way as he strolled, at this moment in time he felt unnaturally violent- not like himself at all. Probably the drugs. In an attempt to control his boredom he had rearranged all of the furniture, searched every drawer in his fancy dresser, attempted to smash anything that looked like glass and he'd managed to punch a metal wall until it was dented and covered in blood from his knuckles. Having lived around people his entire life and being a very social person in general, Lance had a difficult time dealing with suclusion. He was also starting to feel some claustrophobia, being trapped in a pretty small room would do that to a person. But there wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell he was going to give in, he could have it much worst. He just hoped the others would find him before Lotor lost patience.


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is longer and more interesting :)

Keith sat in Lance's abandoned room, hugging the red paladin's cold duvet to his chest in an attempt to comfort himself. Why was he so worried? Why did he want to cry all the time? At least when Shiro went missing he could fool himself into thinking he had just been teleported far away, to a sunny planet somewhere. Obviously that wasn't the case but the hard truth didn't hit them until Shiro was back at the castle, safe with them. But Lance... Lance was either with Lotor or dead and depending on what Lotor was doing Lance might be better off dead. But Keith was selfish, he needed Lance to live, no matter the cost.  
"Hey" greeted Shiro softly when he walked into the dark room, only pausing for a second before he sat next to Keith on Lance's bed.  
"You've been hiding out around the castle for the last four days, we're really worried about you. I'm really worried about you" comforted the older man, placing his left hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith barely registered the motion. He'd been avoiding the others because he couldn't face them, not with the guilt of lashing out and this feeling of uselessness. Lance had been gone a week now and Keith hadn't managed to be helpful at all, he couldn't track ships and he could only fight if he had an opponent. And honestly the place felt hollow without Lance and being with his team just emphasized that fact, like the heart of the group was missing.  
"I'm sorry about... Yelling.... And worrying you" muttered Keith, still not looking into his leader's eyes. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Shiro waiting for Keith to add to what he said. No reply came.  
"We're close to finishing the Lotor-Tracker, when we, or should I say Pidge and Hunk, finish we'll be able to find where Lotor is and where he has been recently" Keith perked up at Shiro's words, immediately turning towards the older man, eager for more information.  
"We're close?" Whispered Keith, utterly astounded. And so, so, so guilty. In the time he'd been a selfish baby the rest of team Voltron had managed to make leaps and bounds in finding their enemy. The thought was... Sobering.  
"Yes, Pidge is just waiting for the final data to configure and then we should get the ship's past and current coordinates." Smiled Shiro reassuringly, squeezing Keith's shoulder before getting up. His body language made it obvious he wanted Keith to follow.  
"Uhm...." Stuttered the Black Paladin, before mentally deciding to get over himself and at least try to be a good leader.  
__

"Is it done yet?" Asked Allura impatiently, her mice perched on her shoulders with anticipation.  
"Just a few more ticks" replied Pidge, her eyes glued to the screen. Hunk was positioned similarly, only he had his finger and on top of a small yellow button.  
"What will happen when you press it?" Questioned Coran, noticing the button as he typed hurriedly on a control panel from across the room.  
"It will instantly upload the information to the castle, so we can find Lance more efficiently." Answered Hunk, turning to the ginger man as he said it.  
"But that will only a save a couple extra ticks" pointed out Allura from her place in the middle of the room.  
"Then we'll find Lance a couple of ticks sooner" said Hunk solemnly, bringing his attention back to the screen. For a few minutes the only sound that filled the room was Pidge's frantic typing.

"What did I miss?" Asked Keith as he and Shiro walked into the control deck, only Coran acknowledged their arrival- then he went back to typing.  
"Uhm... Sor- sorry" muttered Keith, bowing his head and averting his eyes from what he was sure to be angry glances.  
"It's... It's okay. We're all under a lot of stress, we weren't working hard enough. We get it" sighed Pidge, looking up from her computer with tears in her eyes. No way was Keith gonna let her feel like this.  
"No. You were all trying your best, better even. I was just so fucking frustrated with myself for being so unhelpful that I had to blame you and I yelled so stulifly. I'm sorry." This time he apologized more thoughtfully, clearly. He looked Pidge right in her tear filled eyes as he said it. She nodded with a smile.

Beep

"What was that!?" Called Shiro as he ran towards Pidge and Hunk's equipment, Hunk pressed the button.  
"We've got Lotor's coordinates, present and past" explained Hunk quickly as he motioned for Allura to start up the castle.  
"Why do we need to know where he is and already has been!? Why not just where he is?!" Said Keith, rushing to Coran's side to help switch a particularly large lever.  
"Because Lotor probably isn't keeping Lance on his personal ship, it's too small. But he probably keeps visiting wherever he's keeping Lance." Explained Pidge, her hands darting across her keyboard at light speed.  
"Got something!" Yelled Hunk excitedly.  
"What?" Asked Allura, her words sharp and fast but not insulting.  
"Lotor keeps going to the same place, it's a large prisoner ship in the North Polydemeac system. And I mean large. Lotor isn't there now but it's the most likely place he'd be keeping Lance."

"Let's go then." Ordered Keith, determination painted across his features like a second skin.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So stuff actually happens in this chapter!

The castle travelled through Allura's wormhole, reaching its intended destination. Hunk wasn't kidding, this ship was huge. In fact, huge didn't even begin to describe it, it was basically the Death Star- only it was a cube.  
"Look, we all want Lance back as soon as possible, but why don't we take tick to make a plan?" suggested Shiro even though what he was saying wasn't arguable.  
"Right, sure, patience yields focus" breathed Keith, closing his eyes before opening them again. Every member of team Voltron (excluding Lance) was staring at the impossibly large ship that lay before them.  
"You said Lotor wasn't here?" Gulped Allura, her eyes widened at the prison.  
"Yeah, he's two star systems away, he shouldn't bother us" assured Pidge before blinking out of her stupor and going back to her computer to try and find a route in.  
"What's it looking like Pidge?" Asked Shiro as he too broke his gaze and turned towards Pidge.  
"We're are close enough for me to hack in, just give me a sec and.... Ah ha! Okay, it looks like there are multiple levels with mostly droids as guards but there's still a lot of actual Gulran on the ship. There are cameras everywhere and the outside is trained to shoot anything that comes near it. I think we can trick the outside sensors with Blue's sonic blast but that means we'll only have one lion to get over there in" explained Pidge, she bit her thin lip and rubbed her temple. Hunk gulped.  
"Okay, but where in the prison is Lance?" Asked Keith, leaning towards the screen.  
"He's the most guarded, right in the center of the cube" announced Pidge sadly. Hunk gulped again, everyone looked pale.  
"What's our plan?" Asked Hunk, looking at both Shiro and Keith but Allura is the one who answered.  
"We take Blue and land her on the outside of the cube, using her sonic blasts to shield her from the sensors. Then we use the airlock to get into the actual prison. From there we split into two teams, with Coran monitoring our progress from here in the castle. Both teams fight their way to the center, one will be freeing prisoners as they go and directing them to the escape pods and the other team will make its way towards Lance" Allura spoke with such certainty that no one dare question her plan, a rather good plan as well.  
"Good idea. Allura, Pidge and Keith will go free the other prisoners whilst Hunk and I get Lance" added Shiro to a displeased growl from Keith.  
"No way, I'm getting Lance back" said Keith, folding his arms and glaring at the other Paladins.  
"Look, you are part Gulran so you'll be able to quickly use handprint to free prisoners. Plus you and I are both close proximity fighters, something we'll need to utilize when we get inside, putting both of us on the same team doesn't make sense. Why do you want to be the one who gets Lance anyway?" At Shiro's strict words Keith blushed slightly before turning away and muttering something about feeling responsible for his team since he was the Black Paladin. Shiro sensed there was more to the story but swept the thoughts out of his head, they had more important things to deal with now.  
__

Allura expertly flew Blue onto the side of the cube, her claws latching onto the sleek metal and sending ripples through it. The four paladins and the ex-paladin went through the airlock and ended up in a pretty dismal looking corridor. The entire place was grey, metallic and inhuman. The sobs of the prisoners as they cried out for their probably long dead families were easily audible. Or maybe they were still alive and Keith was just a cynic. There were guards, both robotic and not, littered about the halls but they were distant and hadn't yet noticed the arrival of the paladins.  
"You know the plan, you three save as many prisoners as possible and Hunk and I will get Lance. We all have the schematics of the prison downloaded into our armour so we should be able to find our way. Good look" whispered Shiro, before charging down the hall to the left at top speed.  
__

Shiro and Hunk charged through the enemies, blasting and punching almost indistinguishable in the chaos. Gulran blood was spilt but lucky for them the Gulran empire seemed to have gone with quantity over quality when it came to their guards. And before rushing into battle Pidge had disabled the guards' communicators so they couldn't alert the rest of the prison to intruders, they'd figure out eventually though. The droids were easy to take down, their movements repetitive and bland, the Gulran soldiers however were a different story. They yelled and bit and clawed and shot and were simply tiresome to deal with as they kept getting back up no matter how often you shot them down. Hunk's laser cannon was blasting at an unimaginable rate, the multitude of blasts heating the surface of the Yellow Paladin's bayard. He was in front, doing his best to clear the bulk of their enemies with his blasts and Shiro cleared up the stragglers that refused to go down. The entire situation was exhausting, they were fighting dozens of people at once but they were making progress.

Upon reaching the center of the cube the duo noticed two things: the increase in guards and the utter silence from the cell Lance was supposed to be in, it looked like it was soundproof. At this point determination kept them strong and they managed to deal with the guards outside the cell in minutes, wiping the sweat off their brows aftrrwards. Now all the had to do was get in. Shiro sliced the keypad next to the iron door and the two then walked into a room they were not expecting. It looked like it had been beautifully decorated, the furniture was ornate and there was the remains of a chandelier on the ground. Near said chandelier was Lance, pale and currently in shock from their abrupt entrance. He looked better than expected but still not very well.  
"We have Lance" called Shiro into his comms, wincing at the sounds of battle that answered him, he blocked them out. Now was not the time for a flashback.  
"You okay Buddy?" Questioned Hunk as he crouched down to Lance's level, a concerned look on his usually happy or nervous face. At that point Shiro realised Lance wasn't too terrified to talk, instead he was on the verge of tears with how relieved he was.  
"Ye- yeah... I'm ok- okay- y" he croaked in reply, as if he hadn't spoken in days. Lance sat up a little straighter, supporting himself with the wall. Shiro really hoped Lance had the strength to walk, to figure this out he decided to look for injuries, and immediately found the blood on his knuckles. He looked at Lance worriedly, the Red Paladin gave a small smirk in return.  
"I thi- I think they drugged the water. At first it made me really angry, I, ugh, I couldn't control myself -he looked away, clearly embarrassed- now it just makes me super tired and weak" he said it quietly, still not used to talking.  
"Can you walk?" Asked Hunk softly, Lance nodded uncertainly, trying to hoist himself up using the wall but falling back down.  
"Little help up?" He requested before Shiro pulled him to his feet, the Red Paladin swayed slightly but managed to stay upright and then nodded at his comrades.

The three fought their way back to their rendezvous (the airlock), going as fast as possible. Well, only Hunk and Shiro were able to fight, Lance still looked pretty out of it and could barely walk- slowing them down considerably. Lance looked apologetic and Shiro had considered that to get out quickly they'd have to carry Lance but that would mean one of them couldn't fight. And in a prison full of guards who wanted nothing more than to kill you there was no way they could sacrifice a fighter. And in his current state Lance was, very unfortunately, a burden. He was unable to fight with them but still needed protection, more so than Hunk and Shiro as the Gulra and droids seemed to realise that this specific prisoner was their top priority.  
"I see them!" Yelled Hunk, his relief flooding the hallway. In the distance they could see red, green and pink blurs fighting through what had devolved into a literal crowd of guards. There were so many, in fact, that it was impossible for them to fight the paladins without accidentally hurting each other. 

Upon nearing the other Paladins, they noticed Keith taking on three, very large, Gulra. Two were wielding blasters and another had a sword. Keith always fought aggressively and yet with grace, but after hordes of enemies his movements were now sluggish, almost sloppy. Even Lance noticed despite seeing in mostly double at the moment and he caught a glimpse of what was about to happen. In the midst of battle Keith was focusing on the two Gulra with blasters, but the one with a sword was behind him, his sword raised and ready to strike.  
"NO!" Cried Lance anger and fear and protectiveness filling his every fibre and then...  
Icy shards shot across the floor, freezing all Gulra in its path and killing the Gulra that was about to land fatal blow on Keith. Said Black Paladin turned just in time to see the ice pierce the guard's heart, and hear the clatter of the sword hitting the metal ground. Lance had just taken out a good quarter of their enemies  
Everyone was frozen in shock, well some were also frozen literally, except for the droids who were still coming on strong, not phased by the event that had just occurred. The fighting continued, only Lance really was out cold now, and the guards were swarming around him. Keith felt a wave of anger, a fierce protective instinct and.... Caused flames to lash out at the droids surrounding Lance, burning them to a crisp. And then Keith fell to the floor too, feeling as though his temperature had suddenly tripled.

What was happening to them?!?!


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is pretty short and basically just clearing up a few things, hope you like it anyway :). By the way, I update weekly.

Shiro's eyes surveyed the two paladins' unconscious bodies, his body on autopilot, fighting for him. Pidge and Hunk weren't looking too good either, Hunk was swaying on his feet and Pidge was holding her stomach as if she'd been stabbed but there was no blood. And then there was the carnage surrounding them, icy spikes littered the large hall and fire burned Gulran corpses, giving off a suffocating stench. Luckily Lance and Keith's outbursts of power had taken out the majority of their enemy, now they just had to get to Blue.  
"Allura! Get Pidge and Hunk and help them to Blue, I'll take Lance and Keith!" Shiro yelled as swung Lance's shivering form over his shoulder- the Cuban boy's skin was icy to the touch. Just as worryingly Keith had a burning fever noticed Shiro when he put the Black Paladin over his other shoulder; neither of them were doing too well.  
"Hurry, Shiro!" Called Allura as she pulled the green and yellow paladins into her lion, Shiro obeyed and rushed through the last of their enemies, not bothering to take them out as he was only focused on getting his team to safety as quickly as possible. And getting answers.  
__

The paladins were taken to the infirmory and placed on 4 separate beds, Hunk had fell unconscious whilst in the Blue Lion and was now sleeping like a rock, unable to be awoken from his sudden slumber. Pidge was still conscious but had an alarming green tint to her otherwise pasty skin and was retching like nobody's business, spitting bile into the nearest container whilst Allura rubbed her back.  
"Okay, we need answers. What is happening to them and why do Lance and Keith suddenly have powers?" asked Shiro, his fingers rubbing his temple.  
"Well it's because they are the paladins of Voltron and have reached obtained the elemental abilities of their original lions. That's why Lance has power over ice and Keith has power over fire even though they are now the red and black paladins respectively." Explained Coran, twiddling his moustache with one hand and worriedly checking Lance's temperature with the other, he was freezing.  
"Okay... But that doesn't explain why this only happened now. Or why they are so sick. Or why me, Hunk Pidge and Allura aren't sending fire balls across the room!" Said Shiro, completely exasperated and incredibly worried about his team. But also releived he wasn't going through any of this, he already had enough on his plate without having to worry about accidentally freezing his bedroom door shut.  
"Ah, yes, well the original paladins only managed to unlock their abilities after years of being voltron and decades of being friends, with all the lion switching and lack of time together Allura and I didn't think you'd ever even get powers, let alone this soon. And they're ill because their quintessence is adjusting to the newfound energy, they shouldn't be fine in a couple of days but we can't put them in pods. Now, Hunk and Pidge definitely do have powers shown by their sudden illness they just haven't used them yet. You and Allura don't have any new abilities and that could be due to many things on your part, not being a, um, paladin could be to blame. And Allura probably doesn't have powers as Lance is already the paladin of the cold so Allura doesn't have any powers to get" explained Coran patiently, moving from Lance (who was now bundled in more blankets then could be counted and had fresh bandages on his knuckles) to Keith who was across the room and sweating, his fever at 104° which worried Shiro to no end.  
"But.. but they're going to be okay?" Asked Shiro, nudging Hunk slightly to see if he'd wake up to no avail.  
"They should be fine if we can keep their symptoms in check for a couple of days, you should go rest, Shiro" encouraged Allura kindly even though she was in equally bad shape.  
"So should you"  
__

Lotor stood in the reck of a prison, his crew silent and shaking with fear, wondering who would get blamed for the disappearance of the Blue Paladin.  
"Question the remaining soldiers and scrap the few droids that are left." Said the Prince, his tone cold and foreboding. The soldier he was speaking to nodded, said the orders into his comms and went to walk away, but Lotor stabbed him in the back, scarlet liquid dribbling down the sword and onto Lotor's light purple hand, the red sticking to his lilac fur.  
"I want that paladin back." He stated to no one in particular, before marching down the blood soaked hall and kicking hunks of droids out his way as he went. He would retrieve his future mate, and this time he wasn't going to be merciful.  
__

Hunk's eyes fluttered open, his limbs felt slightly numb and very heavy but he wasn't in any pain, well until Coran pulled him into a death inducing hug.  
"Ah, my dear boy, you're awake!" Beamed the Altean, not noticing Hunk's gasp of pain. Said pain faded immediately when he saw Pidge was awake and looked uninjured, if a little pale and green and bent over a pot. He was struggling to remember what had happened.  
"Er, Coran? What in the name of quiznac happened!?!" He exclaimed, sitting up and noticing Lance to his right and Keith far to his left. Allura rushed in at the sound of the paladin regaining consciousness.  
"Well, Hunk. We went to rescue Lance but the security was too much, and ugh, well.... You managed to awaken your paladin powers giving you each extra quintessence even though you and Pidge haven't actually used your powers yet". Hunk stared at the two Alteans in disbelief, before seeing a scene of mayhem, ice shot across the floor and flames scorched Galran soldiers.  
"Wha...? Oh my God!" Stuttered Hunk, attempting to unleash more of the memory but failing, leaving him scratching his head in confusion.  
"Yep, it was an eventful battle" murmured Pidge before retching again, throwing up into her already full pot of sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are really appreciated xD


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is awake and dealing with their powers.

Unsurprisingly, Lance was the last one of the paladins to wake up, he had already been pretty out of it when they rescued him after all. Whilst everyone else was waiting for their red paladin to awaken, the situation had been fully explained and it was safe to say Keith was far from happy. Sure, he understood that in battle it would be helpful to be able to defend themselves without any weaponry but Keith had grown attached to his Bayard and fighting without it seemed infinitely hellish.  
"For the last time Keith just because you have powers now doesn't mean you have to stop using your sword!" Sighed Shiro but Keith responded with no more than a glare. The team had gathered in the infirmory and were waiting for Lance who, though still unconscious, was doing much better than before; he'd stopped shivering and his breathing was back to a reasonable rhythm.   
"When's he going to get up?" Asked Hunk sadly, looking at his limp best for as he lay unresponsive and hurt.  
"Once his body is done processing the extra quintessence" replied Pidge before either of the Alteans had a chance, she'd already heard the answer and was sick of it. All she wanted was Lance back, they had him physically but since he'd been passed out with seemingly hypothermia for the last three days it wasn't exactly an ideal reunion.

"Shh, he's stirring" whispered Allura, staring worriedly at Lance's face as his eyes began to twitch open.  
"Ugh" groaned the paladin, his bright blue eyes flickering open and his arms attempting to put him in a sitting position, Shiro gently (but firmly) pushed Lance's shoulders back onto the bed. He was not at 100% and the former black paladin was not going to let his teammate injure himself any further.  
"Whattimeisit?" Murmured Lance, flinching a little at Shiro's hands but relaxing back into his previous position anyway.  
"You're... You're.. Okay?" Questioned Keith, his violet eyes scanning Lance for what was probably the 100th time that day, his hand reaching out to check the Cuban boy's temperature. It seemed normal, maybe a little chilly but Lance wasn't shivering so maybe he couldn't tell. After some final checks and scans Coran concluded that Lance was fine, a sentiment Lance himself advertised once he had gathered his bearings and gotten over the drowsiness of waking up from a three day coma.  
__

"And you're sure your okay?" Asked Keith tentatively and much to Lance's annoyance. It had been two hours and his team, as well meaning as they were, couldn't seem to accept that he was in fact fine. Physically at least and he wasn't planning to divulge his mental state, if he thought things were awkward before he could only imagine them after he gave them the full story on how he was currently feeling. Which, just so you know, was definitely not fine.  
"I'm great, didn't even get tortured and I woke up with cool ice powers" he replied brightly, slightly off put by Keith's uncharacteristically concerned nature but accepting it since he was too emotionally drained for an argument. The two of them were heading towards the training deck to meet up with the rest of Team Voltron, they were supposed to be getting information about their new abilities.

"Good, you have arrived!" Exclaimed Allura, her tone was bright but her expression seemed sheepish, she kept glancing at Lance when she thought he wasn't looking. It was a similar story for the rest of the paladins.  
"Well I guess we can get to it! You four have been bestowed with magnificent elemental abilities, far sooner then we expected. I warn you that once you break in your new quintessence it could be... Difficult to control." Said Coran, gesturing for everyone to gather on the observation deck aside from Pidge who was currently on the training floor surrounded by immobile droids, some red and some silver.  
"Now what you want to do is use your powers to destroy the red droids without damaging the silver droids" smiled Coran brightly through the speaker, Pidge just stared at the monitor in return.  
"And what powers are those exactly?!? You never told me!" Cried Pidge rubbing the bridge of her small nose in an attempt to deal with her frustration.  
"Ah, right. Yes well the green paladin has power over plants, the original green paladin used to sprout vines from the air and tie up her enemies. I remember this one time..." Droned Coran.  
"Yeah yeah, I got it" Pidge breathed in, focusing her energy. She concentrated on her bond with the green lion, on the stardust that made up their universe. She stood still, her arms outstretched in front of her willing vines to manifest and lash out at the red droids.  
"Uhm, Pidge?" Called Shiro after ten minutes of silence and no incredible display of plant prowess.  
"It's only been a few ticks, I can still get this!" Moaned the 14 year old, crossing her arms grumpily when Allura advised her to return to the observation deck.   
"It's okay, when the paladins of old discovered their powers it took them a while to learn to control them too" assured Coran kindly as Hunk pulled the green paladin into a hug.

Hunk went next and it was basically the same story. Apparently the yellow paladin could control rocks, very helpful when that's what most planets are made up of. Coran had taken the liberty of putting a pile of pebbles in the training room and though Hunk did manage to make them twitch slightly, though that was quite possibly just a movement of the ship, he had just as little luck as Pidge.  
"So who's next?" Asked Shiro as kindly as he could despite his disheartened nature being obvious, Allura and Coran however seemed very pleased and cheerful... Almost as if this was good.  
"I'll go?" Said Lance before Keith had a chance to volunteer, they looked to the corner Lance was standing in in surprise. They'd not been expecting their red paladin to bounce back from a kidnapping so quickly, everyone but Shiro and Allura sensed something was a little off but kept their mouths shut. They hoped if something was wrong Lance would come to them when he was ready, but maybe nothing was wrong. Lance hadn't been really injured after all...  
"Okay my boy, just go try your best" encouraged Coran as he patted Lance on the shoulder before letting the young paladin out of the observation deck.  
"So I have ice powers?" He asked some what nervously, he wasn't too anxious though thanks to expecting to not be able to use his powers at all just like Hunk and Pidge.  
"Basically, yes" replied the Princess as they all gazed at the scene before them. Not sure what to expect. Probably not this: as Lance tried to concentrate he felt a surge of emotion, not too massive but large enough for icy spikes to blast from his fingertips, destroying all of the droids, including both red and silver, and turning almost the entire floor into an ice skating rink. In response to the sudden outburst Lance tucked his hands into his armpits, afraid of what he might do otherwise. The rest of the team gasped except for Allura and Coran who sighed dismally and looked to each other.

"That's enough for now, Lance, get back to us" commanded Shiro when he saw the Alteans' expressions.  
"Ugh, sorry about the mess..." Muttered Lance when he walked into the room and gesturing to what had become of the training deck. However, nobody noticed as upon entering Lance had sent a breeze of cold air into the observation deck and just his presence was turning the room into a fridge, his friends shivering within seconds of his arrival.  
"This is what we were worried about" sighed the Princess, touching Lance's shoulder only to flinch away at his extremely cool temperature.  
"Ugh, you were worried he'd have too much power?!?" Asked Keith incredulously, stepping beside Lance despite the cold aura surrounding him and, to everyone's surprise, wrapping his arm around the red paladin's shoulder, causing Lance to stare at him greatfully.  
"Not exactly, when first getting their powers the previous paladins had either the issue of not being able to control their powers (like Lance) or not being able to summon them at all, much like Hunk and Pidge. And the former proved to be far more dangerous" explained Allura sadly, glancing at the shivering paladins and then at Lance who was, much like Blaitz had been, not affected by his own extremely low temperature.

"Well I guess it's my turn to break out my new quintessence" said Keith harshly before shoving his way out of the chilly observation deck, his anger at the team for making Lance feel dangerous obvious. He could feel his frustration rising up inside him, hot and pounding. It was stupid. Why did he care so much about Lance? Why had he had a little ache in his heart ever since he first saw him in the Garrison? Why didn't he just say something instead playing into Lance's rivalry? Why the hell was he still pretending he couldn't remember Lance despite spending a lot of his free time at the Garrison staring at him from a distance?!? The questions bubbled like lava in a volcano and he could feel them about to spill out, finally taking the form of hot flames when he reached the door to the training deck, melting away the door handle and offering him no control over the intense heat he was producing, scorching the room in front of him.

This was bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is longer then usual and still not very plotty :/. I just wanted to show them dealing with their powers and the aftermath of Lance's kidnapping, a lot of langst next chapter though xD
> 
> Like always kudos and comments are really appreciated and I reply to everyone because feedback makes my heart flutter :))


	9. 9

Well that was a disaster thought Keith as he sat in the large bunker, the walls reinforced with temperature proof walls and a dark monitor on the wall. And of course, Lance was across the room sat on a bed because whatever space god existed wanted Keith to suffer in the same room as his emotionally unstable crush. Though it hadn't started out that way, after Keith's... Outburst.... Allura and Shiro had decided it would be safest to keep the red and black paladins away from the rest of their team and had placed the two in separate rooms whilst they attempted to clean up the damage in the training deck. Unsurprisingly Lance didn't take this very well As he had been recently kidnapped and held in a secluded room. Keith was almost tempted to laugh at Shiro's stupidity for thinking it was a good idea, but he was currently too annoyed to.  
"Look, I get that we're dangerous and have to stay away from each other or whatever but you can still talk to me" groaned Lance from across the room, he was laid back in what seemed to be attempted nonchalance but his voice was still hoarse from crying I'm the other room after just a few hours of being locked inside.

"Okay, but don't come near me. I don't want to give you 3rd degree burns or anything" Keith muttered, he hoped Lance could hear him since they were a pretty significant distance apart. The bunker was a large cuboid with steel lining the walls, said steal was half covered in a light coating of frost that stopped abruptly when it reached his side of the room. He guessed his own warm climate was melting it but couldn't be sure; he couldn't feel his own hot temperature.  
"No need to worry about that Keith, I'd probably go all Elsa on your ass before you got the chance" chuckled Lance, he sounded more light hearted than earlier but his statement confused the black paladin.  
"Ugh...... Elsa?" He questioned to an immediate gasp of shock from Lance, one so realistic Keith feared the red paladin was actually in danger.  
"You... You've never watched Frozen? Really!?!?!?" Lance feigned hurt, which was pretty realistic thanks to his earlier breakdown, before laughing at Keith's lack of knowledge on Disney pop culture.  
"Aww man, I have to show it you! Me and my nieces watched it so many times even they started getting sick of it!" His laugh sounded more genuine now and Keith could swear the frost on the walls melted slightly, Keith smiled.  
"But wait, if your nieces got sick of it why did they keep making you watch it?" Keith smiled at the conversation, hoping to keep the light-hearted exchange going.  
"I was the one who forced them to watch, I loved it so much that when I got to the Garrison the first thing I did when I visited home was turn on Frozen. My family probably hated me for it but it became a kind of tradition, last Christmas they got it for me on Blu-ray..... Wait, was it the Christmas before last!?!" Lance's tone changed suddenly to one of confusion and panic, he pulled his legs up onto the bed as he took a few moments to think.

"Lance? You okay" Keith asked, concerned at his friend's silence and very tempted to go over and hug him.  
"We... How long have we been in space!? I promised my family that Christmas 2016 I'd come home and make them watch all the Disney movies with me! Even High School Musical...! I... They probably think I'm... But what about... I.. ugh" Lance's voice was breaking and he sounded dangerously close hyperventilating, the red paladin had told his team about his homesickness before but usually he was more collected than this, it took a lot of emotion to get him to break down in front of his team like this. Without think Keith got up from his bed on the left side of the room and walked towards Lance, who seemed to be crying, the ice around him strengthened in an attempt to keep the violet eyed boy out but to no avail; Keith's powers counteracted Lance's.  
"Hey, hey... It's okay" Keith murmured into the other boy's ear as he sat beside him. He draped his arm over Lance's shoulder and the Cuban leaned into Keith chest, letting his body muffle his sobs.  
"Lance..... We need to talk" Keith said after a few minutes, not even sure where to start. Honestly his request was open ended in that Lance could pick which of the many things were probably roaming through each of their minds to talk about. Keith wasn't too socially inept to know that this was the wrong time to confess his quite embarrassing, but very strong, feelings for Lance. He also knew that Lance would probably choose to speak about his family, what he missed after months, maybe longer, in space. Keith also suspected he might say what had put him in enough emotional turmoil to get him this emotional.... And of course Keith worried Lance would remain quiet. That was, after all, what Keith would do in this situation.  
"It... It was just so... Quiet..." After minutes of silence that wasn't what Keith was expecting but with tears all over his chest and a new sense of calm in his powers he wasn't particularly surprised.  
"What do you mean?" He replied softly, stroking Lance's back as he slightly rocked him, Lance squeezed his chest tighter; he was pretty much just sitting in Keith's lap by now.  
"When I was kidnapped... The room... It must have been soundproof or something... They never turned of the lights.... I had no idea how much time had passed, the quiet was unbearable there was just no one there. At one point I started wishing someone would come torture me just so I could have a conversation with someone other than myself, just so I could hear a sound that I didn't make..." He was clinging to him tighter now and was obviously very upset but his powers weren't going crazy so Keith counted it as a victory.  
"That's why you broke all the furniture, it breaking made the room sound less.... Empty" the black paladin remembered what Shiro had told him about the state of the cell they'd found Lance in: 'beautifully decorated but entirely ruined'. Lance was a very social person, he wasn't like Keith- he couldn't deal with seclusion. 

They sat like that for a while and talked, about important things and inconsequential things, Keith made sure to steer clear of his feelings for Lance. Now was not the time. And after a while, after a lot of tears, Lance could give a genuine smile and the black paladin's world lit up for a second- it might take a while but Lance could be, no, would be okay. He just had to be there for him... As a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, langst is a go but Keith is there.... As a friend... I don't know why I do this to my boys. Hopefully some fluff up ahead, I like writing happy! But first there's plot, I promise!
> 
> No updates for a couple of weeks (if you care about that) I'm going to Spain so it's all relaxation and trying to avoid spoilers for Voltron season 4! 
> 
> As always kudos and comments are awesome, I reply to everyone! xD


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lotor s still looking for Lance and Allura has an idea on how to help the team control their powers. We finally meet Matt.

Lotor had always hated his heritage, part Altean and part Gulra was probably the worst mix he could imagine, especially since all Gulra hated Alteans. But what he found especially annoying at the moment was his Gulra side's need for his mate, his mate who was supposed to be his enemy, his mate who had taken all of his concentration, his mate who was probably plotting to kill him. The Gulran Prince officially had the worst luck.  
"Any news of his whereabouts?" Asked Lotor coldly, breaking the tense silence on his ship but making the atmosphere even scarier for his generals.  
"The Blue Paladin, actually all of Voltron, hasn't been heard from or seen in weeks, Sire" replied Ezor after a brief quiet. Lotor was glad he didn't need to expand on who he was talking about for his generals to understand, it showed they knew what the most important mission was at the moment. He had also instructed his generals to go by Earth time, it made him feel closer to his lost love.  
"Lotor, are you sure we should be spending all of our time looking for an insignificant paladin when the quintessence-"  
"You dare question me, Zethrid? Or did you forget who your leader is?" Snapped Lotor angrily, his generals would never understand his need for Lance; they had been lucky enough to not inherit that unhelpful trait from their Gulra parent.  
"Of course not, My Lord" she mumbled weakly, unlike her usual aggressive self. Perhaps the daily bloodbaths of Lotor slaughtering planets to find his mate had finally quenched her thirst for a fight.  
"If Voltron is in hiding, we'll just have to draw them out..." The Prince smirked and, while putting a picture of the Blue Paladin from when they had captured him up on his screen, he ordered his crew to set a course for Olkarian.  
__

The only seemingly good thing to come from the team's new powers was that neither Lance or Keith could pretend they were fine. If they were fine the atmosphere surrounding them was quite pleasant, Lance had a breezy Autumn morning and Keith had a calm Spring evening. This was rarely the case for either of them. The first time Lance had come down to breakfast after they had cleaned up the training deck, he had frozen his space goo and given both Hunk and Shiro slight frostbite. Whereas when Keith joined them it felt like there was a fire across the table, one that had come dangerously close to giving Pidge heatstroke. Now the two paladins just sat together, letting their auras cancel each other out, even though had recently made great strides in controlling their emotions and actually seemed genuinely okay. Until this morning when Lance sneezed and managed to cover the rest of his team, aside from Keith, in frost.  
"Seriously, Lance?!? Now I have to defrost my glasses- again!" Complained Pidge, vaguely annoyed but still concentrating on the screen before her.  
"Sorry..." He apologized, not paying attention to her complaint as he was trying to eat his now frozen breakfast.  
"Let me help with that" offered a slightly blushing Keith as he melted the mess of Lance's food, his hand grazing the other boy's arm.

"Paladins! You are needed on the training deck" called Coran over the loudspeaker, prompting the team to leave the kitchen behind.  
"What was so important you had to interrupt breakfast?" Asked Hunk after they arrived, Keith trudging through the door last.  
"Well... You've all been having some, eh, trouble controlling your new abilities and we decided the best way to activate them properly, without accidentally turning this room into a warzone, is to recreate the conditions that led to you getting powers in the first place." Allura explained it with an air of confidence but everyone else, excluding Coran, liked dubious.  
"Did the original paladins have this much trouble? Is this how they fixed it?" Asked Shiro seriously curious, to which Allura returned an embarrassed look.  
"Actually, the original Black Paladin had the ability to even out the rest of the paladins. Just being around him kept their powers under control and reliable" said Coran sadly, probably remembering that Zarkon was the original Black Paladin.  
"Well, I guess this 'recreating' thing is worth a shot" decided Keith, pulling Shiro's attention off of his lost position as Black Paladin.  
__

"Ugh.." groaned Shiro, the real Shiro, as he sat up in bed, letting Matt's worried look wash over him.  
"What's happening now?" He asked gently, despite being worried for his sister's safety with a Gulra made clone living with her. Ever since the resistance had rescued Shiro from the Empire's clutches many months ago, Shiro had been able to recount things his clone, Kuro, had gone through- though it did have a delay. Luckily it was easy to separate Shiro's own true memories from that of Kuro's.  
"They're okay, they are trying to control their abilities but without me there..." The former paladin trailed off, he had also gained powers but he had no idea what they were since he didn't seem to have the ability to access then without having his team near him.  
"What about Lance? You said he was rescued by the other paladins a few weeks ago, is he doing okay?" Asked Matt, remembering how worried Shiro had been when he found out from his mind link that one of his own had been kidnapped and he hadn't been able to find or protect them. Not to mention Matt's own worry about Pidge losing, from what Shiro had described about Lance, a brother figure.  
"He's doing alright I think, still hasn't told Keith how he feels about him though" Shiro chuckled at the irony of neither Lance nor Keith wanting to ruin their friendship by admitting they were in love.  
"We need to go to them" Matt insisted once again, desperate to see Pidge and to get Shiro back with his team.  
"I wish we could, Matt, but we don't know how the mind link between me and Kuro works. I know he has all of my memories up to when they took my DNA to create him, but we don't know if he knows anything past that like I have with him, the mind link could go both ways. If we go without knowing he could prepare for our arrival or even convince the team that I'm the clone, not him. In fact, I'm not even sure if he realises he's a clone" Shiro explained it sadly, trying not to notice the crestfallen look on Matt's face; one that he'd gotten use to seeing on Pidge's face after so long in space without her brother.

"Don't worry, we'll go to them eventually".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, not my best chapter and pretty short seeing as I haven't updated in a while :/ pretty sure I spelt Ezor wrong as well.... Ah well.
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and please tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is great as long as you're polite :))
> 
> Also what did y'all think of S4? This fanfiction won't be paying attention to it since *spoiler alert* I don't want Keith to run off and join the bom and Lotor is too creepy in this to ever join them. Also I probably invented my own version of Lotor with this fic since his characterisation is pretty shitty.... :/
> 
> Anyway I'm back to my normal schedule if you care so expect a new chapter next Sunday :D.

**Author's Note:**

> All kudos and comments are really appreciated, I seriously love them xD


End file.
